A newly-launched family-friendly game for smartphones and tablets developed in Dunedin by an independent game developer gives a new twist on mindfulness and gaming.

John Gillanders, Director of Technaturally Games, hopes to reach people who do not play video games, and video gamers who do not practice mindfulness.

Mr Gillanders says “I have always wanted to create video games and share with others the same fascination and joy I have felt ever since I was a little boy, playing games with my family on our Commodore 64.”

Colibrium, the first game released by Technaturally Games, uses human psychology to draw the player’s mind into a state called ‘flow’ – highly focused, present, engaging and rewarding.

The mental state of ‘flow’ was first described by Hungarian-American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in his work on psychology in the 1970s, and is recognised as being the state of mind of top-performing athletes, also known as being ‘in the zone’.

Mr Gillanders drew on this knowledge in designing Colibrium so that the game’s difficulty automatically adjusts to suit the skill level of the player, making it easier for a broad range of people to achieve a ‘flow’ state when playing.

“The gameplay of blending and matching colours by balancing different amounts of coloured objects is unique. I liked the idea because even though it is simple, no one else has used blending colours in a game in that way before,” says Mr Gillanders. “The game helps you become present – the cornerstone of mindfulness – and guides you towards the mental state of ‘flow’ by adapting to how you play.”

Colibrium can be downloaded free for iPhone/iPad from the App Store and for Android phones and tablets from the Play Store, or from www.Technaturally.games.